The choice of school for your child is a particularly delicate step for parents, especially in Paris where there are many alternatives. Indeed, it is possible to enrol your child in a traditional public school, a private school, a bilingual school and many others. Nevertheless, there is a very interesting option that is developing more and more and is proving very popular: Montessori schools. Offering a differentiated pedagogy adapted to each child, Montessori schools in Paris or around the world are increasingly successful because of their unique way of operating. Focus on this pedagogy, which has been very popular in recent years.
What is the Montessori method?
Montessori pedagogy was created by an Italian doctor Maria Montessori who based herself on her observations during her work with children and on the work of French specialised doctors. After her medical studies, Maria Montessori worked for several years in contact with children before founding the first children’s home in Rome in 1907 in a disadvantaged district where she implemented the teaching method she had developed. To design it, Maria Montessori relied on several main principles derived from her observations. First of all, children are much better able to develop serenely if they are provided with a suitable environment that takes into account their abilities. Moreover, each child has his or her own pace that must be respected to enable him or her to learn according to his or her needs, knowing that each child has excellent learning skills that he or she is able to exploit if the conditions are created that are conducive to this. This new way of apprehending the child by leaving him/her free to develop at his/her own pace with adequate support also allows him/her to develop his/her autonomy and self-confidence.
The advantages of a Montessori school in Paris
While the capital has a wide range of educational facilities, a Montessori school in Paris differs greatly from other schools. Indeed, the Montessori schools, in order to respect the principles of this method, are arranged in a quite different way compared to other schools. While most mainstream schools offer classrooms with offices all oriented towards the teacher and his or her board, Montessori classrooms have spaces dedicated to each activity. In addition, all the teaching materials are left at the disposal of the children and at their height so that they can freely choose their activity. In addition, the supervision and support of children in learning activities are carried out by educators specifically trained in this approach and recruited by these schools to ensure that this method is applied as closely as possible to what Maria Montessori has created.
